Public Monuments in Veleia
1.
Lex de Gallia Cisalpina, mid-1st century BCE.
Discovered on April 24, 1760, this bronze tablet preserves a portion of a Roman law concerning the judicial authority of magistrates operating in the province of Cisalpine Gaul, established between the late 2nd and early 1st century BCE.
The inscription (0.72 × 0.55 m) consists of 110 lines arranged in two columns. Holes along the edges and in the center suggest it was mounted for public display, ensuring—like all Roman laws—its accessibility to all citizens.
Only part of the original text survives: Articles 20 to 22, the end of Article 19, and the beginning of Article 23. This indicates that three preceding tablets and at least one subsequent one are missing.
From the extant sections, we learn that local magistrates were authorized to rule only on cases involving amounts not exceeding 15,000 sesterces.
This particular judicial arrangement may have been reserved exclusively for this province, whose Romanization had been accelerated by Caesar in recognition of the many Cisalpine Gauls who had served in his army.
The inscription can be dated between 49 BCE—when Roman citizenship was granted to all inhabitants of Cisalpine Gaul at Caesar’s initiative—and 42 BCE, when the province was dissolved and formally incorporated into Roman Italy.
2.
Drunken Hercules and Club, bronze, late 1st – early 2nd century CE.
This small bronze statue was discovered on July 10, 1760, beneath a marble slab on the western side of the forum, in front of the shop fronts, together with a bronze pedestal.
Hercules originally held a cup in his right hand, broken in antiquity—only part of the stem is preserved. His left arm, slightly extended forward, ends in a contracted hand, as if in a spasmodic gesture of releasing an object now lost—most likely a club, identified with the specimen unearthed during excavations in the 1970s.
Also from the central shrine—likely the site of a cult—comes a small stone base inscribed with a dedication by L. Domitius Secundio to a fellowship of Hercules devotees. The inscription dates to the 2nd century CE.
3.
Fragments of Large Bronze Sculptures.
Several fragments belonging to large bronze sculptures were found in the same public area. These include a gilded bronze hand and several fingers, a fragment of a sword, two shafts, and a lion-headed stud.
The stud closely resembles the decorative motif on the breastplate of the statue of Germanicus, which was found together with the sword fragment.